Frozen Charlotte Dolls

Title

Frozen Charlotte Dolls

Subject

Toys
Dolls

Description

These two dolls were found in completely different CCUs.
Made of porcelain, Frozen Charlotte Dolls, aka penny dolls, hail from Germany and came in a variety of sizes. Most were meant for use in the bathtub. They became popular in the United States around 1860, coinciding with the popularity of a morbid song about a girl named Charlotte who froze to death in a sleigh after refusing to wear a blanket over her fine clothes. These dolls served many purposes, including being baked into new year's King Cakes, but ultimately they were children's dolls that adults gave a morbid history. They would have normally had painted short, dark hair, red lips, and rosy cheeks.

Smaller Doll: CCU 115
Larger doll: CCU 165

*Edits: More fragmented doll bodies of various sizes were found at CCU 170, CCU 115, 9FU91, and two doll heads were found in 9FU91 and 9FU93

Source

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/frozen-charlotte-dolls
https://quintessentialantiquedolls.wordpress.com/2021/08/11/after-the-bath-dressing-the-little-bathing-dolls/

Publisher

Phoenix Project

Date

c. 1860

Contributor

Emmett Cantkier
Cloe Ellington

Format

Larger doll:
36g
63mm x 29mm x 21 mm

Smaller doll:
10g
41mm x 20mm x 14mm

Bottom half only:
14g
42mm x 16mm x 18mm

Type

Porcelain
Ceramic

Identifier

Smaller doll: ACC 189 a244
Larger doll: ACC 190 a321
Bottom half only: ACC 153 a423
Heads: a3545 ACC 170 // a3860 ACC 170

Coverage

CCU 115
CCU 165
CCU 170
9FU91
9FU93

Collection

Citation

“Frozen Charlotte Dolls,” The Phoenix Project , accessed September 7, 2024, http://martaphoenixproject.gsuanthropology.com/items/show/117.

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